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Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven has admitted he "never expected" the club's decision to part ways with former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's two-year tenure came to an end a mere 16 days after he led the team to victory in the European final, delivering the team's first piece of silverware in nearly two decades.

However, this continental triumph was not mirrored in the domestic league, with the team finishing in a lowly 17th position in his last campaign at the helm.

He was succeeded by former Brentford boss Frank during the off-season, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 loss to Forest on Sunday.

"He was a really good manager. I still really like him," the Dutch defender stated on The Overlap podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went after - he's the manager that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

"Afterwards, when he got sacked, I texted to my father and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

The Australian manager joined Spurs from Celtic before the 2023/24 campaign, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his offensive philosophy of play, amassing an impressive points haul from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with four defeats in five games, and the team's form deteriorated, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two points.

In the next campaign, they managed only 11 of their 38 Premier League fixtures.

Lacking a Plan B

While he appreciated Postecoglou's style, Netherlands international the defender thinks the team lacked a "alternative strategy" and revealed he and defensive partner Romero spoke about taking a more defensive approach with the manager.

"I liked the offensive play at that time but I like what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I don't like being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he explained.

"Initially with that system, no team was accustomed to playing against our style. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, coaches analyse everything and people knew what we were doing. Sometimes we lacked a backup plan and we were being caught out. We didn't have answers to resolve it."

"On one occasion me and Romero approached the gaffer and said we need to adjust tactically and be more defensive to make sure we secure victory in those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I expect you two guys to handle this on the pitch, make sure everybody knows.'"